TORONTO -- Former media mogul Conrad Black called Mitt Romney’s decision to vote for convicting U.S. President Donald Trump a “disgraceful, dishonourable thing” motivated by Romney’s dislike for the president.
Romney, a U.S. senator from Utah who was the Republican presidential candidate in 2012, voted to convict Trump on abuse of power in Wednesday’s impeachment vote. During a speech on the Senate floor, Romney said that despite his support for most of what Trump has done since he took office, he couldn’t in good conscience vote against the first impeachment article.
“Were I to ignore the evidence that has been presented, and disregard what I believe my oath and the Constitution demands of me for the sake of a partisan end, it would, I fear, expose my character to history's rebuke and the censure of my own conscience,” he said.
In the end, Romney was the only Republican to vote in favour of convicting Trump – though only on the one charge – and the president was acquitted of both charges.
Black, who Trump pardoned last year for his convictions of fraud and obstruction of justice, called Romney’s vote an “out-of-body freak out.”
“For Romney to do that, he finished his public life in a way that’s almost as disgraceful as what happened to Elliot Spitzer,” Black told CTV’s Power Play. “I assume his marriage will survive it though.”
Spitzer resigned as governor of New York in 2008 after it was revealed he had been involved in a prostitution ring.
As for the impeachment case, Black said Trump has the right to ask for information on anyone involved in “influence peddling,” including former vice-president and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
“He asked for the facts,” he said. “He didn’t ask for the crucifixion of Biden. He didn’t ask for anything damaging on Biden, he asked for the facts. Nothing wrong with that.”
With the impeachment trial now behind him, Black believes Trump can expect a landslide victory in the 2020 U.S. election.
“The Democrats have a bunch of clucks that are contesting Trump as the most successful first term of any president except for Lincoln, (Franklin D. Roosevelt) and Nixon,” Black said. “He’s going to run the tables in the balance of this year. He’s going to kill the Democrats and they deserve it.”
